Roots and Wings
by Tee-Cup
Summary: Soon after Sybil's death a young girl is left without a home and invited to stay with her Uncle at Downton. She might be young and impressionable but she's bound to have an affect on every person already living there. I don't own any Downton related content. Please R&R. Dedicated to DowntonIsMyLife.
1. Chapter 1 - Introduction

**Downton Abbey  
I don't own anything except Harriet  
Please review because I'm a bit unsure so I want to know what you think!  
Roots and Wings  
Chapter One – Introduction**

She hated travelling. At the moment she hated everything. The scarlet fever had hit her family hard, first her brother had been taken and then her mother. Her father had died in the war, and now she was all alone in the big wide world. The only family she knew of left was her Uncle Robert, she'd tried to argue she'd be alright living alone but the authorities had demanded that she go to Downton to live. Sighing, she leant her forehead against the cool glass, her head jolted as the car bumped along the road and as it began to give her a headache so she resigned to leaning her head back against the seat and closing her eyes. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had someone to talk to but she didn't have anyone anymore. She imagined Downton would be awful, boring and filled with a whole lot of nothing. She squeezed her eyes shut in the hope that it would block out the world, block out everything she hated and everything she wanted. She cut off as much of her senses as humanely possible; all she wanted was to return to her mother's safe arms. She didn't suppose she'd ever smile, let alone laugh, again.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Grand House

**Sorry that the previous chapter was so short! I just wanted to get it up so I could start it off and then expand on it!  
Chapter Two – The Grand House**

As soon as she saw it her only thought was that her initial thoughts must have been correct. Her view of the house from the polished window of the car showed that it was a huge house, she imagined the inside to be filled with hallowed, cold, winding corridors that she'd soon become lost inside. The grounds were indeed spacious and she supposed it wouldn't be too bad to take her note-pad and nestle herself amongst the tree's to draw or write letters to her mother. That was a way that someone had advised her to get over her grief, to write letters to members of her family, telling them things about her life. And she'd been closest to her mother, she often found herself wishing she could talk to her and writing her letters seemed a simple enough way of one way communication.

As she neared the house she moved forward in her seat to get a better view of the two lines of people waiting for her arrival. A long line of people in uniform, she supposed they must be the helping people. She disliked using the word servants or staff; she often found these people to be far more hospitable and humble than the shorter line of people who she supposed must be her family. She vowed to spend as little time with them as possible, she felt home sick already. This was so different to what she was used to, to what she'd grown up with.

All her life she'd lived in a sweet, little cottage by the seaside with her mother, father and little brother. Sometimes her parents would talk about moving to a larger estate a little like Downton but she'd protest so much that they would put the idea away immediately. She loved the cosiness of the small cottage and she didn't like how large this house was in comparison. She'd only ever had a couple of staff to help her, she'd never regarded them any differently than she would a normal person and if she'd ever been bossy then her mother or father would scold her instantly. She was a bright girl, very cultured and talented in the arts, for a fifteen year old. She painted and drew daintily, drawing inspiration from nature. She played the piano to an incredibly high standard and there was little she enjoyed more than to curl up with a good book on the hearth before the fire.

The car crawled to a stop and she sighed and took a deep breath before opening the door, not bothering to wait for it to be opened for her. She was quite capable of doing it herself. Gathering her skirts in her hand and allowed her a moment of pleasure at seeing the look of surprise on her host's faces. She climbed out and allowed the valet to help her down, she had a tendency to trip rather easily and she didn't wish to make a fool of herself this early on in her meeting of her family.

Nervously she began to advance towards them; she bit her lip and looked at the long line of people, all staring at her. She felt her cheeks begin to blush, and was relieved as a kindly woman hurried forward to greet her. She was grateful as she put a comforting arm around her as her knees felt weak enough to collapse.

'Hello dear, welcome to Downton! I'm Cora, your Uncle's wife.' She introduced herself cheerily and she nodded slowly in response, not trusting her voice. Cora led her over to the others. Introducing them in turn, first she gestured to the youngest woman, she looked kind but slightly reserved with short blonde hair, 'This is Edith.' Edith gave a small nod and a smile with a polite 'How do you do?' and again all she could do was smile and nod. Cora went on, 'This is Mary and her husband Mathew.' They mimicked the blonde lady and she repeated her previous actions. 'This is Tom and he has a daughter, Sybil is sleeping.' The actions were repeated once more, a tiresome greeting. But now Cora had reached her final person to introduce, a man who towered above her, and she knew instantly who this must be by process of elimination and once Cora had introduced her Uncle Robert he gave a curt nod.

Staring down at her, his eyes a mixture of sympathy, kindness and what she supposed must be contempt; she had after all upset the balance of his household with her coming there. She met his eyes with her own, fear and nerves eating up her insides. He puffed out his chest and spoke gruffly.

'Well, I suppose you must be Harriet. Harriet Crawley.'


	3. Chapter 3 - Roses

**Chapter Three – Roses  
This chapter is specially dedicated to DowntonIsMyLife even though the whole story is, this chapter in particular as it's a birthday present for her!  
Happy Birthday my big little sister! (See what I did there? Because you always call me little big sister, okay…)**

As she was led into the stately house she glanced at the line of people she hadn't been introduced to, at the head of the line were two people, a man and a woman. For a moment her eyes connected with theirs and they both gave her warm, welcoming smiles, these two people were the first people who'd given her a ray of hope for her new life at Downton.

As the small procession of people passed them she overheard the man talking to her uncle in hushed tones, she caught snippets of conversation about a new gardener. She craned her head around to look back at them but was whisked away and up a large flight of stairs. She focused her attention on taking in as much of her surroundings as possible. Cora led her to a fairly small room which gave off the impression of being airy and large. She had to admit, she liked it. She was told this was to be her bedroom. People left one by one until it was only her and Edith left.

They stood in an awkward silence for a moment before Edith spoke and left. 'I hope you'll enjoy Downton…' she nodded and left, leaving Harriet alone. She walked over to the window-seat and sat on the plush, white cushion, looking out across the vast grounds. The large green-space was bordered by trees and in the distance she could see a lake. She smiled a little to herself as she decided that she would be able to take her drawing things and sneak away when she needed some moments to herself.

She sighed to herself and leant back against the window, in the distance amidst the trees and bushes she could see a man working in the shade of a tree. She couldn't make out much of him from here except a shock of his jet black hair. She looked over to her small bag on her bed and got up to go over to it. She thought that she might as well begin to unpack.

Her small bag didn't contain much, only her most personal possessions. Firstly, her diary. It was a thin, light blue book with a pattern of dancing birds around the edge of each page, she wrote her letters to her mother in it. She stroked the front cover of it softly before laying it on the sheets of her bed and reaching for her second item. A separate drawing pad, one that was already nearly full with her drawings and imaginative sketches, she desperately needed a new one and prayed that one of the shops in the village would have one. The next item was a small case filled with her drawing pencils and her favourite blue fountain pen that had once belonged to her father. And the final item was a silver hairbrush that had once belonged to her mother. In this hairbrush there was a hundred memories of her mother brushing her long hair before bed and singing soft songs to her. She cradled the hairbrush against her chest for a moment before setting it down alongside her other few possessions and pausing a moment before snatching up her drawing book and pencils. She stuck her head out of the door and checked there was no one about before dashing out and along the corridor, adrenaline kicking in; she picked her skirts and ran down the length of the corridor and down the stairs before checking there was definitely no one around and slipping out the front door. Feeling a little safer now she was out in the grounds she kept a quick pace but relaxed a little, heading for the closest clump of trees. Once she was safely under the trees cover she allowed herself to move slower, enjoying the scenery around her.

The leaves filtered the summer sun to leave dappled, green patterns on the ground and dancing across her skin. She wandered for a while before finding a small clearing, the springy grass kept its shape after she'd stood on it and in the middle of this clearing was a rose bush. The pink roses matched the colour of her dress and as she got closer she could really appreciate the stunning colour and how beautifully perfect they were. She decided that she liked this place that she wanted to remain here forever. She wouldn't ever return to her uncle's house, she would stay here with only the company of her roses. She smiled and sat cross-legged on the heather before opening her pad and beginning to sketch her rose bush, even her talented hand couldn't do the delicate petals justice and she began to become frustrated that her efforts weren't enough. She added a little colour and it ruined the picture completely, she felt a mixture of rage and disappointment wash through her and she threw her pad and pencils away in anguish before throwing herself down on the soft floor and beginning to sob gently. Not only weeping for the disappointment of her drawing, but her continued mourning, she wished desperately that she could have anyone in this world to trust. But she had no one. She had already decided that she liked Cora and Edith fine, her and her uncle probably would not have much need for conversation in her eyes but she would respect him as he deserved and be grateful to be accepted into his home. But she longed for the comfort of her parents arms around her.

Eventually, with the combination of her sadness and the warmth of the afternoon sun, she fell asleep on the floor of the clearing. The sun sunk fairly low into the sky and by four o'clock she was awoken. A man knelt above her, shaking her gently and smiling softly. She recognized him at once from the shock of jet black hair and she knew that he must be the man she'd seen from her window. He was younger than she'd initially thought, only in his twenties surely and had sharp features, defined cheekbones and a square jaw, but the most interesting feature about him were his bright blue eyes. They weren't a deep blue or a normal, everyday blue; they were the brightest blue possible. The colour of a sky on a cloudless day, of the purest of waters, they were stunning. The sight of these eyes caused her breath to catch in her throat and as she sat up she felt ashamed of her own eyes to look upon this beautiful man. She looked down and nodded her head.

"Good afternoon, sir." She said politely and he smiled a little more.

"Good afternoon miss. I didn't wish to wake you but I fear that the house will be worried about you by now." His voice was beautiful, silky smooth and melodic, she recognized that his accent must have been an Irish one but no matter how beautiful it was it did not want to make her move any more. She sighed and leant back on her hands, she didn't want to go back. He could see that she would be stubborn and so changed the direction of the conversation, sitting down properly beside her. "I saw your drawings miss. They're very good."

She blushed lightly and kept her eyes cast down, "Thank you sir."

He looked at her, searching her face and trying to get her to talk to him, or look at him at least. "You know," he began, picking up her pad and flicking through it, "You don't have to call me sir. In fact you shouldn't, I'm just the gardener."

"But to not call you sir would be impolite as I don't know your name. It's what my mama taught me." she said, risking a glance up at him but by now he was studying her sketches so she let her eyes flicker down again.

"Well then I should tell you my name." he said, putting down the book and holding out his hand, "I'm Edward. Most of my friends call me Ed. You're perfectly welcome to call me Ed if you wish to be my friend?" he said with a smile and she looked up and at him, smiling warmly before shaking his hand a little nervously.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ed. My name is Harriet, I don't think I have any friends to call me any different, so I believe it would be a pleasure to be friends with you." She said with a soft smile and he nodded.

"Very well Miss Harriet!"

"No." she said suddenly, her smile faltering slightly, "If we are to be friends and as I believe you are attempting to escort me back to the house, if I am to let you, then you shall call me Harriet, never miss." She said almost sternly and he nodded respectfully.

"Alright then!" he said, smiling, "I will take you back to the house, and so that we are not caught by any of the family who might be a little displeased with you I'll take you round the back. I'm sure that Mrs. Hughes will allow a little white lie and will say that you've spent the day with her getting to know the staff."

She smiled gratefully and stood with him, "Thank you." She said softly and he shrugged.

"Think nothing of it. What are friends for eh?" he picked up her things and began to lead her back to the house.


End file.
